If you want to know who U.S. Rep. Carlos “Cry Baby” Curbelo is really representing 
in Washington, D.C., show up tonight at Shula’s 347 Grill in Sunset Place for the kick-off of the one-term congressman’s re-election campaign.
While Curbelo has been raising money from the get-go, this event Monday night in South Miami is the first one his campaign is officially hosting. And it’s in Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen‘s district, by the way. The Miami Herald said that among the donor hosts listed on the invitation were the usual suspects — former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, whose office Curbelo began his political career with.
Bush might be too busy with his own political aspirations — running for U.S. president is a bit labor intensive — to show up. But who might we find at Shula’s tonight?
Read related story: We got one! Carlos Curbelo’s secret clients includes fugitive
Well, look for the clients of his lobbying firm that Curbelo likes to keep secret. Those include Venezuelan government insider Juan Carlos Tovar, a close friend and one-time business partner of Doral Mayor Luigi Boria. They also include Roberto Isaias – who was convicted of embezzlement in Ecuador and who Curbelo took to D.C. to meet members of Congress for a PR project just a couple years ago.
Even now that he’s a congressman himself, Curbelo still doesn’t feel there is any need to disclose the major clients that hire his lobbying firm, Capitol Gains. And, legally, he doesn’t
have to. Because in 2010, Curbelo found a loophole — and transferred ownership of the company to his wife’s name.
Never mind that she doesn’t even work there.
During last year’s campaign — first a tough primary and then an all out war with former Congressman Joe Garcia — Curbelo declined to name his clients even when journalist after journalist asked him about it. Political Cortadito was the first to expose his little switcheroo to the little lady.And he is able to deflect the obvious appearance of a conflict of interest, just as he has been able to deflect the other shenanigans in his campaign.
Read related story: Carlos Curbelo hides lobbying client list under wife’s skirt
He was also dogged for having taken campaign contributions from parties who did some kind of business or were somehow related to the Miami Dade School Board, on which he served as an elected member. Then he had that “computer error” that conveniently left almost $100,000 of special interest money out of his campaign finance report.
“Congressman Curbelo’s ‘new’ campaign is clearly just more of the same – shirking responsibility and playing political games that put special interests before working Americans,” said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Matt Thornton in a really canned statement. “As much as Congressman Curbelo can try to hide his campaign finances and donors, his record of enabling dysfunction in Washington is clear for all to see, and South Florida voters will send him packing in 2016.”
Ladra thinks that is giving Curbelo too much credit. He’s not enabling anything or anyone but himself and his clients — whoever they may be.
Carlos Curbelo kicks off campaign with friends… and clients? added by Ladra on
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